Aggressive SoCal brush fire prompts mandatory evacuations (Fox News reporting 3 Firemen dead.)

CABAZON – Mandatory evacuations were ordered early Thursday as a brushfire ripped through this desert area near Palm Springs, threatening homes and businesses. The 800-acre fire was being fueled by 25 mph winds that could build, said Becky Luther, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry-Riverside County Fire Department.

The fire was burning in a remote valley between rolling, brush-spotted hills. The area contained mainly scattered ranch homes but the hamlets of Poppet Ranch and Twin Pines were evacuated along with a juvenile center, Twin Pines Boys Ranch.

Luther said there was a danger the blaze could claim up to 25,000 acres if the fire, which was moving southwest, reached a nearby forest where many trees had been killed by a bark beetle infestation. There also were many homes in the resort community of Idyllwild.

“The biggest concern is if it gets over the hills,” Luther said. “That's where all of the homes are.”

The area has repeatedly burned and the regrowth is mostly grass and chaparral that burns hot and quick, allowing the fire to spread quickly but with little staying power, Luther said.

“It's moving quite rapidly,” she said. “Let's hope it burns itself out.”

Televised reports showed a twisting ribbon of flame that sent up pillars of smoke that shrouded the area.

An emergency evacuation center was set up at Banning Community Center, near Cabazon. Drayer Eveline, 83, got an evacuation call at 3:30 a.m. She packed her clothing, medicine and her Brittany spaniel into her station wagon and left with an 84-year-old neighbor who couldn't drive.

Timo Hargu, 61, said he rushed from his hilltop home with his two dogs after he looked out a window and saw fire burning toward him in a valley.

“The whole thing was ablaze with flame,” he said. “It was the most spectacular view. A terrible view, but spectacular.”

The area is sparsely populated, with homes a mile or more apart, he said. Cabazon is about 90 miles east of Los Angeles and 17 miles northwest of Palm Springs in Riverside County.

Burning Trees Pollute A Lot

By Ed Klim
President, International Snowmobile Manufacturers Association

I attend meetings discussing land access and environmental issues across the United States, Canada and into Europe. I am always amazed at the positions presented by some of the "Green Elitists," so I will share a couple of them with you here.

I was recently in California and a number of environmental extremists at the meeting were ecstatic the Clinton Roadless Rule has resurfaced and it is their hope that any road construction and/or maintenance on approximately 60 million acres of U.S. Forest land will be stopped. At the meeting, I heard countless fire suppression experts talk about the need to maintain roadways for firebreaks and for entrances and exits to allow firefighters to fight fires. Also during the meeting the environmental elitists spoke incessantly on how fires in our forests are needed and in fact are good. I was somewhat shocked at their comments, since I have walked through a burned forest and discovered literally thousands of dead, burned animals. I also know that forest fires cause a huge amount of air pollution, which I thought bothered the "greenies."

The California Air Resource Board (CARB) is concerned with pollution caused by forest fires and has developed a model that estimates the amount of pollution caused by a forest fire. The data is quite stunning. A one acre fire in a conifer forest emits one ton of particulate matter, nine tons of CO, 0.6 tons of HC and 0.25 tons of NOx. So, a quick review of EPA data shows that 1,040 new cars operating normally for one month (which is approximately 1,250 miles of driving) will match the emissions from a 1 acre fire.

The Day Fire, which started in California on Labor Day and was finally under control on Oct. 2, 2006, burned more than 160,000 acres of forest. Quick math would show the recent fire in California generated 160,000 tons of particulate matter and 1.4 million tons of carbon monoxide. The numbers are pretty staggering. Pollution caused by the Day Fire alone equals the emissions of 166,400,000 automobiles driving on the road for one month. Wow! That is an interesting number to remember, especially when you hear somebody say that forest fires are good for the forest. Maybe we should harvest a few trees and lower wood prices for our children.

Another issue that is often discussed at hearings across the United States is the Endangered Species Act (ESA). We know that the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation that would have corrected the weaknesses of the ESA but the U.S. Senate failed to even vote on the legislation. It appears the Big Breen Groups are staunchly against changes to the Endangered Species Act no matter what.

I recently attended a meeting on this issue and discovered that homeowners in Boiling Spring Lakes, NC, were fearful that the ESA might designate entire city neighborhoods as "protected habitat," subject to restrictions to save a threatened woodpecker. The individuals in North Carolina were told that if their neighborhood was designated, their children could be held liable for inadvertent violations of the Endangered Species Act. That means that anyone convicted of harming or harassing a woodpecker could face up to a year in prison and $100,000 in fines. Reacting to the fear of losing the ability to maintain their home site, landowners swarmed city hall for lot clearing permits and since then, the city has issued 368 logging permits. The city fathers have watched with dismay as lots across the area on Big Lake have been gradually stripped to sandy soil. The homeowners determined that they didn't want to have their neighborhoods designated, so they removed the nesting pine trees that were around their homes.

Yes, it’s a pretty sad state when a poorly written law can't be changed by the Senate and it causes individuals to change their neighborhood to protect their homes and their children from harassment and fines by the federal government.

Sometimes, we just need to use a little bit of common sense and honesty when discussing important issues that impact us all.

I thought this was a pretty interesting read.

Prayers for the firefighters and their families.

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